The Toronto St. Patricks (colloquially known as the St. Pats ) were a professional ice hockey team which began playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1919. The Toronto NHL franchise (league membership) had previously been held by the Arena Company (and the team called the "Arenas"), but despite winning the Stanley Cup the team was bankrupt and pulled out of the league after just two seasons. The rights to the Toronto franchise were purchased by a group of investors with links to an amateur club called the "St. Patricks". The new owners renamed the NHL franchise after the amateur club, and as the St. Patricks the team won the Stanley Cup in 1922 . J.P. Bickell invested in the St. Patricks in 1924 as a favour to Charlie Querrie. In 1927, Charlie Querrie and other investors wanted out, J.P. Bickell made arrangements for other Toronto investors and initially hired Mike Rodden (a referee and sports writer) to run the hockey operations, which did not work out. He then hired Conn Smythe as the Managing Partner. The team was renamed to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1926–27 NHL season .
192-642: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. ( MLSE ) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto , Ontario , Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada , it is the largest sports and entertainment company in Canada, and one of the largest in North America . The primary holdings of
384-587: A Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise for Toronto. In early 1974 MLGL announced plans to build a new baseball stadium in Toronto, but the city ultimately decided to renovate Exhibition Stadium to make it suitable for baseball. At the time, the MLGL group, led by Lorne Duguid, vice-president of Hiram Walker Distillers and MLGL executive, was one of at least four bidding for a Toronto MLB team, including competing groups led by Labatt Brewing Company , Robert Hunter,
576-595: A World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight title fight in April at Ricoh Coliseum, this was delayed due to regulatory restrictions on the amount of gauze that can be used for wrist wraps in Ontario. MLSE and Michel joined with Lennox Lewis to promote a WBC light-heavyweight title fight in September 2015 at Ricoh Coliseum. In August 2017 MLSE announced that it had reached an agreement with Scotiabank to rename
768-526: A $ 10 million contribution to the project by the City of Toronto, which owns the stadium, they receive rent from MLSE, while MLSE's management and naming rights agreements for the stadium, which were set to expire in 2027, were extended by 10 years. The province of Ontario also contributed $ 10 million to the financing. The City insisted that the renovations allow the Argonauts, who had to vacate their current home
960-593: A 19.9% block of shares in MLGL from HEBL and a right of first refusal on the rest of HEBL's shares. The NHL did not learn of the deal until the late 1980s. In 1982, he offered to sell the company for $ 50 million, with the arena alone reportedly valued at $ 11 million, though a stockholders' report the following year placed the value of MLGL at $ 23.5 million. When Harold transferred ownership of his personal real estate holdings, which were valued at $ 2.52 million, to HEBL in January 1989, he acquired 4 newly issued common shares in
1152-489: A 20-year lease (with an option to extend the term by a further 10 years) for the Coliseum , which had undergone a $ 38 million renovation in 2003, that called for rent to cover debt financing charges, property taxes and generate a return to the arena investors, which exceeds $ 4 million annually. In 2023 the city approved amendments to MLSE's lease of the Coliseum including a 10 year extension starting in 2025, with an option for
1344-464: A 25% share of MLGH from Stavro in 1996 for a reported $ 21 million. MLGV subsequently purchased all the remaining shares and took MLGL private in 1998, after acquiring more than the 90% of stock necessary to force objecting shareholders out, and MLGL and MLGV amalgamated. The purchase was the subject of an Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) review, due to allegations that MLGV had engaged in insider trading by failing to disclose that broadcast revenue
1536-506: A 51% ownership stake in MLGV, with the remaining 49% owned by Teachers'. The following month MLGV announced that they had reached an agreement to purchase the 60.3% of MLGL held by Harold's estate for $ 34 a share or $ 75 million total, valuing the company at $ 125 million. The estate still owned Stavro $ 23 million at the time. Molson also sold its 19.9% of MLGL to MLGV in April 1994 for $ 25 million. Larry Tanenbaum's company Kilmer Sports purchased
1728-415: A Canadian Army officer and prisoner of war during World War I . Viewing the maple leaf as a "badge of courage", and a reminder of home, Smythe decided to give the same name to his hockey team, in honour of the many Canadian soldiers who wore it. However, the team was not the first to use the name. A Toronto minor-league baseball team had used the name "Maple Leafs" since 1895. Initial reports were that
1920-415: A Real Sports channel as a motivator for Rogers and Bell, owners of sports channels Sportsnet and TSN respectively, to purchase the company due to concerns about losing the rights to broadcast MLSE teams to the channel or having to pay huge fees for them. The acquisition of MLSE by Rogers and Bell in 2012, and associated agreements to divide the company's regional broadcast rights between the two, eliminated
2112-585: A Stanley Cup shutout. game five belonged to Toronto as Dye scored four goals in a 5–1 victory to clinch the Cup. For the series, Dye scored nine of the St. Pats 16 goals, while Roach posted a 1.80 goals-against average. In the following two seasons, the St. Pats would miss the playoffs with third-place finishes. Losing money due to poor attendance, the Hamblys sold their shares in the St. Patricks to Nathan Nathanson, owner of
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#17327881191622304-426: A combination of bad investments, careless spending, and a lack of non-athletic skills. The wear and tear of a career in professional sport, can cause physical and mental side effects (such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy , a condition that has seen a massive rise in public awareness in the 2010s) that can harm a former professional athlete's employability. In the United States, some of these problems are mitigated by
2496-525: A company ( aircraft industry , food workers , tractor industry ) or organization ( KGB , Red Army , Soviet Air Force ) that sponsored what would be presented as an after-hours social sports society team for their workers . Christians in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement , which adheres to the position of first-day Sabbatarianism , oppose the viewing of or participation in professional sports, believing that professional sports leagues profane
2688-682: A deal set to close in mid-2025. The corporation's roots can be traced back to 1927, when Conn Smythe organized a group of investors to purchase Toronto's premier hockey franchise, the Toronto St. Patricks of the National Hockey League (NHL), which had won Stanley Cup championships in 1918 (as the Toronto Arenas ) and 1922 , from a group headed by Charles Querrie . The club was playing poorly and minority partner Jack Bickell contacted Smythe about becoming coach of
2880-609: A developmental team for Maple Leafs. In 1929 Smythe decided, in the midst of the Great Depression , that the Maple Leafs needed a new arena. Arena Gardens , their then home which they shared with the Marlboros, had been built in 1912 and lacked modern amenities. It seated just 8,000, which the Maple Leafs were regularly filling. After considering various locations, the site at the corner of Carlton and Church streets
3072-529: A developmental team for the Raptors. Hamilton's Copps Coliseum and Oshawa were reportedly under consideration to host the franchise. However, a Canadian-based franchise posed difficulties due to tax and visa complications, and Rochester, New York, which is just across the United States border, was considered as an alternative. In May 2015 it was announced that MLSE had purchased a D-League franchise, which would be named Raptors 905 and would begin play that fall at
3264-552: A federal penitentiary. In 1966, Ballard set up a family holding company named Harold E. Ballard Ltd. (HEBL) for his assets, including his shares in MLGL, as part of an estate freeze . Ballard distributed 103 common shares in HEBL, with his three children (Bill, Harold Jr., and Mary Elizabeth) each receiving 34 which were held in trust , and his wife Dorothy receiving 1, which Harold would inherit upon her death three years later. Harold retained 308,000 preferred shares in HEBL. While
3456-458: A force behind the revival of the modern Olympic Games . The tension between the two sporting practices and ideals dates from the inception of modern organized sports in the 19th century. The high political and financial stakes involved in sport have ensured that this tension has remained strong. Professional sporting organizations have often developed as "rebel" organizations in relation to established national and international federation, for example
3648-467: A further 10 year extension. MLSE announced in April 2005 that they would be working with Cadillac Fairview (a wholly owned subsidiary of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan) and Lanterra Developments to build Maple Leaf Square , a major entertainment complex situated next to the ACC. The $ 500 million 1,700,000 square feet (160,000 m) complex, which was completed in 2010, is a mixed use facility which features
3840-485: A great deal of money at the highest levels; for instance, in 2024 the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team is set to pay 70 million dollars to its highest-paid player, Shohei Ohtani . Per Forbes 2021 ranking, the highest-paid athletes include Cristiano Ronaldo , Lionel Messi , Naomi Osaka , Tiger Woods , Serena Williams and wrestler-turned-actor The Rock . The top ten tennis players make about $ 3 million
4032-607: A handful of small towns. Amid pressure from television networks that were threatening to offer the WHL a contract, the NHL doubled in size in 1967 , beginning a period of expansion that lasted through much of the 1970s. The last major challenger to the NHL's dominance was the World Hockey Association , which successfully broke the NHL's reserve clause in court, drove up professional hockey salaries, and continued to pressure
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#17327881191624224-693: A league-imposed deadline. The team became the Victoria Maple Leafs for the following season. In June 1967 MLGL sold the team for $ 500,000 to a group from Phoenix, which relocated it to become the Phoenix Roadrunners . In 1964 MLGL the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Professional Hockey League were launched. The team was owned and operated by MLGL as a developmental club for the Maple Leafs. In
4416-399: A major renovation of BMO Field . Under a two phase process, the stadium's capacity was increased from 21,566 to 30,000 by May 2015, and a canopy roof covering most permanent seating areas was added and the pitch lengthened to accommodate a Canadian football field by May 2016. The renovations were originally budgeted to cost $ 120 million, but ended up at $ 150 million in total. In exchange for
4608-482: A management company that would own both the hockey team and the arena. A public offering of shares in MLGL was made at $ 10 each ($ 192.00 in 2023 dollars), with a free common share for each five preferred shares purchased. Ownership of the hockey team was transferred to MLGL in return for shares. To fund construction of the building, workers were paid 20% of their salary in MLG stock. Construction started on June 1, 1931, and MLG
4800-486: A new artificial turf field to replace the community use hours lost at BMO Field. The company manages the operations of the facility during the winter season, when the field is covered by the dome and community soccer programs are held. MLSE partnered with Rogers Communications in 2005 to bid to host a regular season National Football League game in Toronto . On January 30, 2008 it was announced that Rogers and Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of MLSE, had reached an agreement with
4992-465: A new home arena for the Maple Leafs in the 1990s. At the time, the Raptors were constructing a new arena, later to be called Scotiabank Arena , which they invited the Maple Leafs to be a joint tenant at. However, MLGL reject the offer, arguing that "the footprint is too small". When Allan Slaight took over controlling ownership of the Toronto Raptors in late 1996, talks began again between
5184-469: A new proposal for a $ 250 million arena at Exhibition Place . However, after years of acrimonious negotiations MLGL purchased 100% of the Raptors basketball club and the ACC, from Allan Slaight and the Bank of Nova Scotia on February 12, 1998. MLGL paid a reported $ 467 million, made up of $ 179 million for the team and $ 288 million for the arena. Richard Peddie , who had been President of the Toronto Raptors,
5376-493: A playoff appearance. Unfortunately, the 'Super Six' of Ottawa would dominate the club 7–0 in a two-game total goals playoff. The experience would be helpful in the following season, however. In the 1921–22 season, the St. Pats made their first and only appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals . After placing second in the league standings, the club upset first place Ottawa to win the NHL championship and face Vancouver in
5568-479: A practice facility for the Argos, which would rent the facility from MLSE and practice on a nearby city owned field. The team moved in that September, but later moved their practice facility to Lamport Stadium in 2018. Then Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo said in 2008 that MLSE was considering launching an NBA Development League franchise in the Toronto area within a couple of years to serve as
5760-408: A right of first refusal to purchase the shares for $ 20 million that February. Shortly thereafter, HEBL issued Harold 32 common shares and $ 125,216 in exchange for ownership of his 350,200 personally held MLGL shares and $ 125,000. Two more new common shares would be granted to Harold to repay the $ 911,000 debt HEBL owed him from his two transactions with the company. This gave Harold, who feared that Bill
5952-645: A significant profit, the second-highest American football league in the United States, the United Football League , consistently struggled to pay its bills and has continually lost money despite allotting its players only US$ 20,000 a year, and television networks made the league pay for television airtime instead of paying the league, making the league's business model unworkable. In the United States and Canada, most lower-end professional leagues run themselves as affiliated farm teams , effectively agreeing to develop younger players for eventual play in
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6144-409: A sixth placing, finishing behind the expansion Pittsburgh and New York clubs. Top scorer Babe Dye struggled and the club finished sixth out of seven teams. The Canadiens had lost their top goalie Georges Vezina and placed last. In 1926–27, the club finished fifth and last in the new Canadian division. Dye was sold to the new Chicago Black Hawks team for cash. The club was in trouble in 1927, both on
6336-511: A small arena to be restored in the building to house Ryerson University's Ryerson Rams (now Toronto Metropolitan University 's TMU Bold ). The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted MLSE two category 2 digital specialty channel licenses in 2000 for Leafs TV and Raptors NBA TV , which launched on September 7, 2001. The channels were used by MLSE to broadcast live games involving their teams in an attempt to increase competition for their rights and drive up
6528-554: A traditional object of criticism by proponents of the amateur philosophy of sport, according to which the central ethos of sport is competition performed for its own sake and pure enjoyment rather than as a means of earning a living. Examples of amateur philosophy include the muscular Christianity movement that informed the promotion of sports in the English public school system, and the Olympism advocated by Pierre de Coubertin ,
6720-538: A year on average. Much of the growth in income for sports and athletes has come from broadcasting rights ; for example, the most recent television contract for the NFL is valued at nearly US$ 5 billion per year. Women tend to earn considerably less than men in such sports as basketball, golf, football (soccer), softball and baseball. The exception is tennis where women tend to have salaries comparable to those of their male counterparts. The highest-paid female athlete in 2019
6912-604: A year, MLGL reached an agreement to sell the Marlboros for a reported $ 500,000, severing their ties with the Maple Leafs. However, the Leafs retained the rights to the Marlies name. The OHL team moved to Hamilton for the 1989–90 season, becoming the Dukes of Hamilton . In 1967 MLGL entered into negotiations to purchase the financially struggling Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team of the minor AAA International League . The asking price
7104-486: Is $ 70,250 for most players, and for players on the reserve roster (slots #25-28) the minimum salary is $ 56,250. In 1970, the average salary in Major League Baseball in the U.S. and Canada was $ 20,000 ($ 156,915 inflation-adjusted). By 2005, the average salary had increased to $ 2,632,655 ($ 4,107,103 inflation-adjusted) and the minimum salary was $ 316,000 (adjusted: $ 492,979). In 2012 the average MLB salary
7296-467: Is inconceivable." In 1871, the first professional baseball league was created. By the beginning of the 20th century, most large cities in the eastern United States had a professional baseball team. After several leagues came and went in the 19th century, the National League (founded in 1876) and American League (recognized as a major league in 1903) were established as the dominant leagues by
7488-588: Is nothing new. According to Cooky, female athletes need more visibility to ensure their access to necessary resources and financial security, which has an impact on their professional development. Outside the highest leagues, however, the money professional athletes can earn drops dramatically, as fan bases are generally smaller and there are no television revenues. For instance, while the National Football League 's teams can afford to pay their players millions of dollars each year and still maintain
7680-533: Is thought that control of the Argos by MLSE will enhance Toronto's chances of acquiring an NFL franchise, with Peddie saying "the NFL is telling them that if you want an NFL team, you better make sure the Argos are okay." Leiweke has said that moving into a renovated BMO field "will help turn [the Argos] around" and that "there's no way the NFL comes here without the CFL being unbelievably successful first." Upon completion of
7872-568: The American Basketball Association . Professional basketball has the advantages of much smaller rosters than other professional sports, allowing the sport to be viable in smaller cities than other sports. Professional basketball leagues of varying caliber can be found around the world, especially in Europe and South America. Basketball mainly became popular in the early 1980s when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird joined
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8064-561: The Buffalo Bills to host an annual regular-season and three exhibition NFL games over five seasons at Toronto's Rogers Centre beginning in 2008, with the games branded the Bills Toronto Series . At the time MLSE was considering bringing an NFL team to Toronto permanently and building them a new stadium, but abandoned the idea when they concluded that the project would not generate sufficient financial return to justify
8256-482: The Buffalo Braves , which had played a number of regular season games at MLG over the years, to Toronto in 1974 for $ 8.5 million, and again several times later, but the owners eventually chose to move the team to San Diego . When Toronto was awarded an expansion NBA franchise in 1974 for the 1975–76 season MLGL was one of three groups to bid for the rights to the team, but the club never materialized as no group
8448-520: The Denver Invaders and act as the Leafs' farm team. Though the league did not acknowledge that the Maple Leafs had an ownership stake in the team, they held a majority position with the Denver partners only owning roughly 36%. Following reported losses of $ 150,000 in their first season, Smythe announced that the team would be relocated after the team failed to reach a 2,000 season ticket target by
8640-819: The German Football League , Austrian Football League , the new European League of Football and the X-League . There are over 60 countries that have leagues throughout the world. The rise of indoor American football from the late 1980s allowed smaller-scale professional football to be viable. Baseball originated before the American Civil War (1861–1865). First played on sandlots in particular, scoring and record-keeping gave baseball gravity. "Today," notes John Thorn in The Baseball Encyclopedia, "baseball without records
8832-550: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL from the late 1970s to late 1980s, before merging with the Raptors, who were constructing the Air Canada Centre at the time, and adopting their current name in 1998. The company launched Toronto FC in 2007. Most recently, the company completed its purchase of the Argonauts in January 2018. Over most of its 80 plus years of existence MLSE was a public company . Following
9024-607: The Hershey Centre in Mississauga , a suburb of Toronto. The franchise reportedly cost $ 6 million. It was announced on January 23, 2009 that MLSE would acquire the 80.1% interest in GolTV Canada , a digital cable soccer channel, held by MLSE owner Tanenbaum through Insight Sports . The channel operated as a localized version of GOL TV USA , which owned the remaining 19.9%, with focus on Toronto FC. MLSE informed
9216-631: The MLS Next Pro , respectively. In addition, it owns Scotiabank Arena (originally named Air Canada Centre), the home arena of the Maple Leafs and Raptors, and the OVO Athletic Centre (originally named BioSteel Centre), the practice facility for the Raptors. MLSE also manages or has invested in several other sports facilities including BMO Field , home of Toronto FC and the Toronto Argonauts; Coca-Cola Coliseum , home of
9408-574: The National Lacrosse League in 1998, in which they lost $ 250,000 playing at Copps Coliseum , owner Chris Fritz was forced to look for partners. MLSE engaged in negotiations to purchase the team and have it play at MLG. However, a group which included Bill Watters , the then Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, ultimately bought the team for $ 250,000 and promptly moved it to MLG where they rebranded
9600-737: The New England Patriots were accepted into the NFL in 1970); the NFL expanded coast-to-coast, the first of the four major leagues to do so, in 1946 with the Los Angeles Rams and admitted the San Francisco 49ers four years later; the NFL did not enter the Southern United States until admitting the Dallas Cowboys , Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints in the 1960s. A championship game
9792-609: The Ontario Soccer League before joining League1 Ontario for the 2014 season. In September 2018, the U20 team left L1O and transformed into a U19 team that competes in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA), along with U17 and U15 teams. The USSA announced on April 15, 2020 that they were ceasing operations permanently due to financial struggles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, MLS announced that it
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#17327881191629984-614: The St. John's Maple Leafs (1991–2005), the team moved to Toronto as the Toronto Marlies (named after the company's former junior team) where they have been playing ever since. The Toronto Marlboros served as a junior farm team for the Maple Leafs for 40 years until direct NHL sponsorship of junior clubs ended in 1967 when the NHL made the Entry Draft universal. In October 1988, with the team losing hundreds of thousands of dollars
10176-787: The TFC Academy youth system to develop soccer players for Toronto FC by taking advantage of MLS's new homegrown player rule which allows clubs to retain the rights to players they develop without them being subject to the MLS SuperDraft . The senior academy team originally competed in the Canadian Soccer League until pulling out in early 2013 due to the CSL losing its sanctioning from the Canadian Soccer Association . The team played that year in
10368-645: The Toronto Shooting Stars of the National Professional Soccer League . The team had been suspended following their inaugural season playing at MLG during which the club lost nearly $ 1 million and the league was forced to take over operations after only three games when ownership pulled out. However, the team never returned to play. Following the inaugural season of the Hamilton, Ontario -based Ontario Raiders of
10560-470: The 1930s and Canada's entry into World War II, greatly reducing the league's player pool, led to the league's retrenchment to six markets: Boston, New York City, Chicago and Detroit in the U.S., and Toronto and Montreal in Canada. These Original Six cities were the only cities with NHL franchises from 1935 to 1967. During this time, the NHL was both stagnant and restrictive in its policies, giving teams territorial advantages, having teams with multiple owners in
10752-556: The 1950s with the evolution of the Canadian Football League . The CFL, despite losing all games in a series of contests against the NFL, was considered to be at least comparable in talent to the American leagues of the 1960s (its lone game against an AFL squad was a victory). Because Canada has a tenth of the population of the United States, the ability to make money from television was much lower, and although some of
10944-596: The 1970s. Richman had a tentative agreement to purchase both the Miami Floridians and Pittsburgh Condors of the ABA with a plan to merge them into a single Toronto-based team, but the deal fell through. Later, Richman held negotiations with the Detroit Pistons , which were seeking $ 5 million for the franchise, but pulled out when the price was raised to $ 8.25 million. MLGL attempted to purchase and relocate
11136-468: The 2009–2010 Bundesliga season. The highest-paid player for the 2010–11 Bundesliga season was Franck Ribéry of Bayern Munich who received a salary of €6.3 million after income tax. In the Italian top league, Serie A , the average salary was about €5 million for the 2010–2011 Serie A season, up from €1 million in the 2005–2006 Serie A season. The highest-paid player for the 2010–2011 Serie A season
11328-401: The 2010 season. The highest-paid player for the 2011 Chinese Super League season was Dario Conca of Guangzhou Evergrande who received an annual salary of ¥67.4 million ($ 10.5 million) after income tax, putting him among the highest-paid players in the world. The highest-paid player for the 2011–2012 Russian Premier League season was Samuel Eto'o of Anzhi Makhachkala , who at the end of
11520-491: The 2011–12 season was expected to receive a total salary of RUB 900.2 million (£35.7 million) after income tax, making Eto'o the second highest-earning athlete in the world and the highest-paid footballer in the world followed by Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimović . The average salary of a player in the German Bundesliga was about €3.3 million (£2.5 million) for the 2010–11 season, up from €2.5 million in
11712-785: The ACC Scotiabank Arena, effective July 1, 2018, for a reported CAD $ 800 million over 20 years, which would make it the largest such deal in North American sports history. MLSE announced in December 2017 that it had agreed to purchase the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League outright, with the deal finalized on January 19, 2018. In May 2022, Tanenbaum indicated that MLSE was exploring opportunities for professional women's sports teams in hockey, basketball, and soccer for Toronto. Although
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#173278811916211904-417: The Academy. The team began play in 2015 at a newly renovated 2,000 seat stadium, with plans to expand it to 5,000 by 2017, constructed at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan , just north of Toronto. However, after the expansion did not materialize, which was required to meet the 5,000 seat minimum requirement set by the United States Soccer Federation for the USL to be sanctioned as a division 2 league,
12096-435: The Arena Company wanted to sell. As an interim measure, Querrie changed the team name to the Tecumsehs on December 7, 1919. The following day, Querrie reached agreement with the owners of the amateur St. Patrick's club to purchase the franchise. Frank Heffernan was named as manager. On December 13, 1919, the NHL transferred the Toronto franchise to the Querrie-St. Patricks group, for the fee of $ 5,000. The incorporation date of
12288-417: The Argonauts up for sale for $ 3.3 million, Ballard expressed interest in buying the team, but it was ultimately sold to William R. Hodgson . Shortly thereafter Ballard tried to buy the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL from owner Michael DeGroote , but this offer was also rejected. Three money-losing seasons later, in February 1978, DeGroote sold the team to MLGL for $ 1.3 million. During his tenure as owner of
12480-445: The Argonauts. Combined with their 306,295 jointly controlled shares, the transaction gave the Stafford-Ballard partnership 78% of the stock. Stafford died in October 1971 of a bleeding ulcer at only 50 years of age, just before his trial was scheduled to begin. Under the terms of Stafford's will, of which Ballard was an executor , each partner was allowed to buy the other's shares upon their death. Stafford's brother and son tried to keep
12672-423: The Black Hawks each owned half of the franchise. However, by 1980 MLGL had decided that the Leafs needed a team of their own, with a spokesperson citing the limited number of roster spots as the rationale for the move. In 1981 the Cincinnati Tigers of the old Central Hockey League were established under the ownership of MLGL, but the team averaged only 1,500 fans and lost $ 750,000 in their first season and folded
12864-429: The CRTC in 2015 that it had acquired full ownership of the channel, however later that year they announced that it would cease operations and the license be abandoned, effective August 31, 2015. In November 2009 MLSE applied to the CRTC for a Category 2 digital TV license for a general interest sports service provisionally named Mainstream Sports, which was granted in June 2010. MLSE planned to broadcast its teams' games on
13056-415: The Caribbean states. Basketball was invented in 1891 and the first professional leagues emerged in the 1920s. The Basketball Association of America was established in 1946 and three years later became the modern National Basketball Association . The NBA was slower to establish dominance of the sport than other sports in the United States, as it would not do so until 1976, when it absorbed four teams from
13248-407: The City of Toronto to build a practice facility for the Raptors at Exhibition Place. MLSE paid the $ 30 million construction cost, and leases the property from the city for $ 205,000 annually, subject to reassessments for inflation, for a 20-year term, with two options to extend it by a further 10 years, following which the city would take ownership of the building. Construction was completed in time for
13440-410: The Decatur Staleys moved to Chicago in 1921 and changed their name to the Bears the following year. Ten APFA players along with Carr are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, set up in 1963 not far from the Canton automobile dealership that gave birth to the NFL in 1920. The APFA, by 1922 known as the National Football League , has remained the predominant professional American football league in
13632-444: The Decatur club. As opposed to today's standard 17-game schedule, clubs in 1920 scheduled their own opponents and could play non-league and even college squads that counted toward their records. With no established guidelines, the number of games played—and the quality of opponents scheduled—by APFA teams varied, and the league did not maintain official standings. The inaugural season was a struggle. Games received little attention from
13824-616: The Famous Players Theatre chain, and mining magnate J. P. Bickell in December 1924. In 1924–25, the club would place second and play off against the Montreal Canadiens . While Hamilton had played first, the club was on strike, making the St. Pats-Canadiens semi-final the de facto final. The Canadiens would win the playoff to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. In 1925–26, the club struggled to
14016-499: The Hotel St. Germain, e11ven restaurant, Real Sports Apparel, Real Sports Bar and Grill, Longo's grocery store, office space and condominium residences. In conjunction with the construction of Maple Leaf Square was a two-year, $ 48 million renovation of the ACC to connect it with the square, which added a new atrium that includes a high-definition broadcast studio for Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and GolTV Canada . The external wall of
14208-851: The Labatt group for US$ 13.25 million. While the Giants' relocation was ultimately rejected by a U.S. court, Labatt was awarded an expansion team in the American League that became the Toronto Blue Jays for US$ 7 million later that year. A team named the Toronto Maple Leafs competed in the inaugural season of the National Lacrosse Association , a professional box lacrosse league, in 1968 at MLG. MLGL owners Ballard and Stafford Smythe were two of
14400-493: The Leafs. They purchased most of the remaining 45% in 1963, boosting their ownership share to 98% by November 1964. In July 1966 the Maple Leafs sold the team to a group which included their then General Manager Punch Imlach for a reported $ 400,000. In June 1963 the Spokane Comets Western Hockey League franchise was purchased by a group led by the Maple Leafs, who relocated them to become
14592-510: The Maple Leafs, with Ballard becoming executive vice president and Bassett chairman of the board. In March 1966, Conn sold his remaining MLGL shares and resigned from the board of directors after a Muhammad Ali boxing match was scheduled for MLG. He found Ali's refusal to serve in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War to be offensive, and said that by accepting the fight, MLGL owners had "put cash ahead of class." Within three years under
14784-451: The Marlies; Ford Performance Centre , the practice facility of the Maple Leafs and Marlies; BMO Training Ground practice facility for Toronto FC and home of Toronto FC II and the TFC Academy ; and Lamport Stadium , practice facility for the Argonauts. MLSE was founded by Conn Smythe in 1931 as Maple Leaf Gardens Limited (MLGL) to act as a holding company for the Maple Leafs and their planned new arena Maple Leaf Gardens , from which
14976-796: The NBA and lead their teams to multiple NBA titles. They are considered two of the best players of all time usually underneath Michael Jordan . Michael Jordan also gained the NBA views with carrying the Chicago Bulls to six titles in the 1990s. In the 1920s some cricketers from the Caribbean played professional cricket in Britain. After World War II , professional cricketers from the Indian subcontinent were enlisted in British teams. Ice hockey
15168-403: The NFL instead allowed games to be televised nationwide, except in a team's home city ; the restriction was softened in the early 1970s, by which point the NFL had secured broadcast deals with all of the major television networks , another major factor in the inability of any competing league to gain traction since then. The related sport of Canadian football was eventually professionalized by
15360-423: The NHL, the company set up a trust to hold their stake, and the league instructed them to sell the shares within an "adequate amount of time." Shortly after the estate, which had limited income due to HEBL still owing Toronto-Dominion Bank $ 15.8 million on its loan to acquire Harold Jr's HEBL stock, missed a January 1991 deadline to repay its $ 20 million loan (including interest) from Molson, Stavro personally loaned
15552-520: The Rogers Centre, to move in. The sale of the Argos in May 2015 to a new ownership group consisting of MLSE owners Bell and Tanenbaum was accompanied by an announcement that they had reached an agreement with MLSE to relocate to the stadium for the 2016 season. The Argos contributed $ 10 million to the conversion of the field to make it CFL compatible, which was matched by MLSE. MLSE financed the rest of
15744-706: The Sabbath , compete with a Christian's primary commitment to God, exhibit a lack of modesty in the players' and cheerleaders' uniforms, are associated with violence and extensive use of profanity among many players, and encourage gambling, as well as alcohol and other drugs at sporting events, which go against a commitment to teetotalism . Laestadian Lutherans , who belong to the Pietistic Lutheran tradition, likewise teach that "Competitive sports are not acceptable, but we should maintain fitness through various forms of exercise." Professional sportsmen can earn
15936-645: The Spanish La Liga , the average salary for the players of Lionel Messi's club FC Barcelona was €6.5 million for the 2010–2011 La Liga season, up from €5.5 million for the 2009–2010 La Liga season. The average salary of a player in the English Premier League was about £2.6 million in the 2017–18 season, compared with about £1.2 million in 2007–08 and £676,000 in 2006–07. Even as early as 2010–11, top players such as John Terry and Steven Gerrard could make up to £7 million per year with
16128-413: The St. Paul Ideals 48–0. The first head-to-head battles in the league occurred one week later as Dayton topped Columbus 14-0 and Rock Island pasted Muncie 45–0. Forward passes were rare, coaching from the sidelines was prohibited and players competed on both offense and defense. Money was so tight that George Halas carried equipment, wrote press releases, sold tickets, taped ankles, played and coached for
16320-620: The Tiger-Cats, Ballard repeatedly threatened to move the franchise to Toronto's Varsity Stadium, which was vetoed by the Argos, and claimed to have lost roughly $ 20 million over 11 seasons. MLGL sold the team in March 1989 to David Braley for $ 2. Ruby Richman, the former coach of Canada men's national basketball team , working with Ballard pursued a number of existing National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) teams to relocate to Toronto to play at MLG in
16512-571: The Toronto Blue Jays of MLB and Sportsnet from Rogers Communications , but concerns about the viability of Rogers Centre as a baseball venue and the profitability of the team resulted in the company not pursuing either. The company also considered investing in an English soccer club, and in May 2012, after the Leeds United Supporters Trust put out a request for a takeover from majority shareholder Ken Bates , it
16704-688: The Toronto area since the first decade of the 1900s, including the senior amateur St. Patricks team in the Ontario Hockey Association . The Toronto franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL), since the NHL's founding in 1917, had been operated by the Arena Company, operators of the Arena Gardens in Toronto. The Arena Company had been granted a temporary franchise for the 1917–18 season, and leased
16896-632: The United States, and, effectively, the entire world. The evolution from a haphazard collection of teams in big and small cities to the much more rigid structure it is in the present was gradual. With most of the small-market teams except the Green Bay Packers squeezed out of the NFL by the time of the Great Depression , multiple attempts at teams in the major cities of Washington , New York , Detroit , Cleveland, and Philadelphia failed before, eventually, their current representatives took root (though Boston proved particularly problematic until
17088-741: The amateur rules of the International Olympic Committee to retain their amateur status and compete in the Olympics . The modern-day descendant of the Soviet league, the Kontinental Hockey League , is fully professional and has some teams outside Russia, to the point where it has the resources to sign NHL veterans. Other European countries including Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, and Austria have prominent professional leagues. Rugby union
17280-465: The arena's opening in November 2006 led MLSE to request that its contract be terminated in March 2008. The company had been attempting to get into the business of managing facilities beyond those where their teams play but decided to withdraw, with Bob Hunter, MLSE's Vice President of venues and entertainment, saying that managing the arena was "no longer a strategic focus for us". In 2008 MLSE launched
17472-460: The arena. Upon Harold's death on April 11, 1990, most of his estate, which was worth less than $ 50 million, was left to charitable organizations. The executors of Harold's will were supermarket tycoon Steve Stavro , Giffin, and Donald Crump . In November 1990 Molson exercised their option on 19.9% of the company, paying $ 10,000 for 735,575 of HEBL's MLGL shares, which at the time were valued at $ 20 million. Due to restrictions against cross-ownership in
17664-410: The atrium features a 30 by 50-foot (15 m) video screen which often broadcasts games to spectators gathered in the plaza in front of the arena. MLSE was awarded a Major League Soccer expansion team for Toronto, which would become known as Toronto FC , in 2005 for US$ 10 million. The company also agreed to contribute $ 8 million towards the construction of Toronto FC's future home BMO Field , which
17856-582: The balance sold to Rochester interests. The team was named the Rochester Americans . The Amerks were a joint affiliate of both the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs, though the club was operated by the Canadiens. In the summer of 1959 the Maple Leafs bought out the Canadiens' ownership share of the club, giving them a 55% controlling interest, due to concerns that with Montreal operating the club they were giving their prospects priority over those of
18048-525: The building. The arena was originally operated by the Lakeshore Lions Club, but in June 2011, with the arena on the verge of defaulting on its rising debt, the City of Toronto took control and assumed its $ 43.4 million debt with the intention to return it to private management within 2–3 years. A city councillor has suggested that MLSE, which operates BMO Field and Coca-Cola Coliseum on behalf of
18240-483: The channel, along the lines of team-owned regional sports networks in the United States such as YES Network and the New England Sports Network , with the tentative name "Real Sports" (in keeping with the branding of MLSE's sports bar and apparel store). It was never revealed whether the channel would have replaced, or supplemented, MLSE's existing digital channels. Peddie credited the threat of
18432-429: The charges were laid, Bassett argued to the board of directors that Stafford and Ballard should be removed from their posts. On June 26, 1969, following an 8–7 vote of the board, Stafford and Ballard were both fired, and Bassett was appointed president of MLGL. However, Bassett did not force Stafford and Ballard to sell their shares, and both men remained on the board. This proved to be a serious strategic blunder; Stafford
18624-533: The charities as well as $ 2.5 million to the minority shareholders who had sued, clearing the way for them to become the majority owner of MLGL. They also settled with the OSC in 1999 for $ 1.6 million, which included a fine and costs. Teachers' invested $ 44.3 million and TD $ 9.75 million in the deal. Professional sports In professional sports , as opposed to amateur sports , participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to
18816-452: The cities of Canada were comparable to the major markets of the U.S., teams in places such as Saskatchewan and Hamilton were in markets quite small compared to even the small markets of the NFL, thus the CFL pays significantly less than other major professional leagues, though enough to be considered fully professional. Europe, Japan, Mexico also have American football leagues of varying levels that sign professional players. The top leagues are
19008-435: The city, would be "the logical party" to take over the arena, and a spokesperson for the company said "while we don't have any interest in purchasing the facility, we are open to discussing the possibility of managing the facility on behalf of the City". MLSE's executive vice president of venues and entertainment Bob Hunter confirmed that they would bid for the right to run the building. At one point MLSE contemplated purchasing
19200-399: The club announced that it would move its home games to BMO Field and Lamport Stadium beginning with the 2018 season. On July 2, 2018 the club announced they would move to USL League One for the league's first season in 2019. The club joined the MLS Next Pro league for its first season in 2022, moving their home games to York Lions Stadium . In March 2011 Downsview Park was selected as
19392-556: The club was December 22, 1919, and listed Fred Hambly, Percy Hambly, Paul Ciceri and Querrie with 99 shares each, and Richard Greer with 4 shares. This move was possible because the Arena Hockey Club was a self-contained corporation, and was therefore beyond the legal reach of Livingstone. Although Querrie returned, player turnover was nearly 100%, partly because the Quebec NHL franchise was activating for this season, and
19584-633: The company are its major sports franchises, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League , Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association , Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League , and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer , as well as their minor league farm teams , the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL), Raptors 905 of the NBA G League and Toronto FC II of
19776-476: The company explored applying for a Toronto based Women's National Basketball Association expansion franchise, they eventually decided against it. Instead, Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Ventures independently submitted an application for a WNBA expansion team for Toronto , which was granted by the league in May 2024. Friisdahl announced that he was leaving MLSE in January 2022, with CFO Cynthia Devine named interim President and CEO to replace him. In January 2024 it
19968-501: The company got its name. Smythe transferred his ownership of the Leafs to the company in exchange for shares in MLGL and sold shares in the holding company to the public to help fund construction of the arena. While initially primarily a hockey company, with ownership stakes in a number of minor and junior hockey clubs including the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association , the company later branched out to own
20160-412: The company opened the ACC as the new home to the Leafs and Raptors. MLG, which was left with no major tenants, was sold in 2004 for $ 12 million to Loblaw Companies , Canada's largest food retailer, which converted the ground level into one of its Loblaws franchises. A condition of the sale was that it was not to be used as a sports and entertainment facility, though MLSE eventually consented to allowing
20352-624: The company plus a promise of a further $ 896,472 rather than cash. Mary Elizabeth sold her stake in HEBL to her father for $ 15.5 million in January 1989, after originally having a deal to sell the stake to Don Giffin, while Harold Jr. sold his back to HEBL for $ 21 million in June of the same year. Harold secured a loan from Molson for the full amount of his buyout of Mary Elizabeth, using the 34 acquired shares in HEBL as security. Harold Jr.'s shares were subsequently retired. Bill sued his father for $ 170 million over HEBL's acquisition of Harold Jr.'s stake, claiming that he and partner Michael Cohl had acquired
20544-452: The company until 1947, following a power struggle between directors who supported him as president and those who wanted him replaced with Frank J. Selke . With the help of a $ 300,000 loan from Toronto stockbroker and MLGL shareholder Percy Gardiner, and the support of minority partner Jack Bickell, Smythe was able to buy 30,000 shares in MLGL from Gardiner and installed himself as president on November 19, 1947, replacing Edward Bickle. The loan
20736-463: The company. Ballard fronted Stafford most of the money for the purchase though a loan he obtained. According to several sources, Conn thought the sale was only to his son, and was furious when he learned that Ballard and Bassett were his partners. He had hoped that Stafford would keep MLGL for his son, Tommy. However, it is unlikely that Stafford could have raised the millions needed for the deal on his own. Stafford became president of MLGL and governor of
20928-466: The death of Bills' owner Ralph Wilson in 2014 the group submitted an offer to purchase the franchise, with speculation that they would move the team to Toronto when their lease permitted it, but were outbid by the Pegulas . Before MLSE completed its purchase of the Argonauts of the CFL in early 2018, the company contemplated purchasing the team at least twice, with minority partner Tanenbaum keen to add
21120-692: The death of majority owner Harold Ballard in 1990, Steve Stavro led a controversial bid to buy the company and take it private . In 2012, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) sold their 79.53% share of the company for CA$ 1.32 billion to a joint venture between Rogers Communications and BCE Inc. , two of Canada's largest media companies, giving the company an equity value of CA$ 1.66 billion and an enterprise value of CA$ 2 billion. In 2024, Rogers announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase BCE's 37.5% stake in MLSE for CA$ 4.7 billion, in
21312-476: The early 20th century. The most victorious team in each league was said to have won the "pennant;" the two pennant winners met after the end of the regular season in the World Series. The winner of at least four games (out of a possible seven) was the champion for that year. This arrangement still holds today, although the leagues are now subdivided and pennants are decided in post-season playoff series between
21504-529: The equity of the company was vested in the common stock, both common and preferred shares each received a single vote, ensuring that Harold retained control of the company. After getting into financial difficulty, Ballard reached an agreement in November 1980 with Molson Brewery (who at the time owned the Montreal Canadiens) for the company to cover his debt financing charges on a loan of $ 8.8 million for 10 years in exchange for an option to purchase
21696-425: The estate the funds to pay off the debt, and in exchange, he received an option to purchase the estate's HEBL shares before January 1996. Bill challenged the transaction, but it was approved by the court. In early 1991, Molson offered to buy the estate's shares for $ 40 each. In September 1991, Bill sold his HEBL stock to his father's estate for $ 21 million, giving it ownership of the entire company. Shortly thereafter it
21888-536: The fact that the college sports system ensures most professional athletes receive a college education with no student debt, a legacy that provides them with a career path after their sports career ends. In the NFL average annual salaries by position in 2009 were: The average salary of a player in the Chinese Super League was about ¥ 10.7 million (£1 million) for the 2011 season, up from ¥600,000 in
22080-475: The fans, and even less from the press. According to Robert W. Peterson's book "Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football," APFA games averaged crowds of 4,241. The association bylaws called for teams to pay a US$ 100 entry fee, but no one ever did. The season concluded on 19 December. At the conclusion of the season there were no play-offs (that innovation, although New York's regional league had used it, did not arrive until 1933) and it took more than four months before
22272-701: The fees paid by other broadcasters. In August 2004 MLSE announced that they would relocate their AHL farm team from St. John's, Newfoundland to Toronto to play in Ricoh Coliseum (later renamed Coca-Cola Coliseum) for the 2005–06 season, after the arena was left without a hockey tenant following the termination of their lease with the Toronto Roadrunners , the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers , for defaulting on their rent. MLSE agreed to
22464-493: The final. A fifth and deciding game five was necessary in this series to determine who would win the Cup. After Vancouver won game one, 4–3, Babe Dye scored 4:50 into overtime of game two to give Toronto a 2–1 win. Then in game three, goaltender Hugh Lehman led the Millionaires to a 3–0 shutout win. However, the St. Patricks tied the series in game four, 6–0, as John Ross Roach became the first rookie goaltender to record
22656-542: The five founding partners of the club, but financial difficulties forced MLGL to take over ownership midway through the season. The NLA suspended operations prior to the following season. In the early 1970s MLGL announced plans to apply for a second Toronto-based Canadian Football League team, in addition to the Toronto Argonauts , which would play at Varsity Stadium , but the proposal never went anywhere. In 1974, when his former partner John W. H. Bassett put
22848-729: The following spring. Shortly thereafter, with Chicago having pulled out of New Brunswick in favour of affiliating with the Springfield Indians on their own, the Leafs relocated the New Brunswick Hawks to St. Catharines , Ontario to establish the St. Catharines Saints as their farm team. The team played in St. Catharines until 1986, and after stops in Newmarket, Ontario as the Newmarket Saints (1986–1991) and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador as
23040-426: The fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations or teams can command large incomes. As a result, more sportspeople can afford to make sport their primary career, devoting the training time necessary to increase skills, physical condition, and experience to modern levels of achievement. This proficiency has also helped boost
23232-630: The former President of the International League Maple Leafs, and Canadian Baseball Co, led by Sydney Cooper. After negotiating with the owners of the Baltimore Orioles , Chicago White Sox , Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics in their attempt to acquire a team for Toronto, MLGL offered $ 15 million for the San Francisco Giants but the team's owner decided in early 1976 to sell the club to
23424-639: The game in 1892. Regional leagues in Chicago, Pennsylvania , Ohio and New York had coalesced in the 1900s and 1910s, most of which gave way to the American Professional Football Association in 1920. By 1920, pro football remained overshadowed by the college game. The first game involving an APFA team took place on 26 September 1920, at Douglas Park in Rock Island, Illinois, as the hometown Independents flattened
23616-660: The highest average salaries in 2017–18, with players for both Manchester United and Manchester City averaging over £5.2 million. Players in lower divisions make significantly less money. In 2006–07 the average salary of a player in the Championship (the second tier of the English football pyramid) made £195,750 while the average salary for League One and League Two (tiers 3 and 4) combined were £49,600. The highest salary in Major League Soccer in 2019
23808-548: The ice and legally. Querrie lost a lawsuit to Livingstone and decided, along with major shareholder Nathan Nathanson to put the St. Pats up for sale. There was a $ 200,000 bid from a group in Philadelphia . However, at shareholder J. P. Bickell 's direction, the Toronto Varsity Graduates coach Conn Smythe headed an ownership group and made a CA$ 160,000 (equivalent to $ 2,762,198 in 2023) offer for
24000-730: The introduction of professionalism varied widely, and the highest-caliber league on the continent, the Soviet Championship League (proven to be at least equal to or better than the NHL in the 1970s), was officially populated with ostensibly amateur players who were actually full-time sportspeople hired as regular workers of a company ( aircraft industry , food workers , tractor industry ) or organization ( KGB , Red Army , Soviet Air Force ) that sponsored what would be presented as an after-hours social sports society hockey team for their workers. In other words, all Soviet hockey players were de facto professionals who circumvented
24192-409: The land. In return, MLSE got the management rights for the stadium for 20 years. Prior to the 2010 MLS season, MLSE spent $ 3.5 million to convert the stadium from FieldTurf to natural grass, and a further $ 2 million to expand the north end by 1,400 seats. As part of the deal to convert the field to natural grass, MLSE spent $ 1.2 million adding a winter bubble to Lamport Stadium and $ 800,000 building
24384-465: The league before the NFL subsumed their operations. Minor league football, although their leagues' memberships were unstable, began to arise in the late 1930s and remained viable as a business model up into the 1970s. A major factor in the NFL's rise to dominance was its embrace of television early in the sport's history. As college football heavily restricted the rights of its teams to broadcast games (a policy eventually ruled to be illegal in 1984),
24576-473: The league emerged as an international force after World War II. NPB is considered to be the highest caliber of baseball outside the U.S. major leagues, and the best Japanese players often emigrate to the U.S. by way of the posting system . Other countries where the game is important include South Korea (where their league has its own posting system with Major League Baseball), Taiwan, Mexico, Latin America, and
24768-639: The league even bothered to crown a champion. Much as college football did for decades, the APFA determined its victor by ballot. On 30 April 1921, team representatives voted the Akron Pros, which completed the season undefeated with eight wins and three ties while yielding only a total of seven points, the champion in spite of protests by the one-loss teams in Decatur and Buffalo, who each had tied Akron and had more wins, thanks in part to Akron's owner presiding over
24960-491: The major leagues in 1947; until then black players had been restricted to the Negro leagues . Starting in the late 1950s, major league baseball expanded its geographical range. Western cities acquired teams, either by luring them to move from eastern cities or by forming expansion teams with players made available by established teams. Until the 1970s, because of strict contracts, the owners of baseball teams also virtually owned
25152-482: The major leagues in exchange for subsidizing those players' salaries; this is known as the minor league system and is most prevalent in professional baseball and professional ice hockey . Otherwise, the league may be required to classify itself as semi-professional , in other words, able to pay their players a small sum, but not enough to cover the player's basic costs of living. Many professional athletes experience financial difficulties soon after retiring, due to
25344-484: The majority ownership of the club. With the support of Bickell, who retained his share of the club, the Philadelphia bid was rejected, Smythe arguing that civic pride was more important than money. After taking control on February 14, 1927, Smythe immediately renamed the team the Toronto Maple Leafs , after the national symbol of Canada. He attributed his choice of a maple leaf for the logo to his experiences as
25536-598: The meeting. The victors received a silver loving cup donated by sporting goods company Brunswick-Balke-Collender. While players were not given diamond-encrusted rings, they did receive golden fobs in the shape of a football inscribed with the words "World Champions." The whereabouts of the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup , only given out that one time, are unknown. The legacy of two APFA franchises continues. The Racine Cardinals now play in Arizona, and
25728-578: The name the Toronto Maple Leafs . A team named the Toronto Maple Leafs had competed in the first season of the ILL at the Arena Gardens, but was renamed the Tecumsehs with the arrival of Smythe's team. Both teams played at MLG. Smythe pulled out following the season due to financial losses, and the league did not play the following year. The company has owned numerous minor league hockey teams over
25920-625: The need for the channel and its license expired after the three-year deadline for launch passed in 2013. In September 2009 the Maple Leafs and Marlies opened their new hockey practice facility, the MasterCard Centre (later renamed the Ford Performance Centre). The arena was a joint venture between MLSE, the City of Toronto and the Lakeshore Lions Club to replace the nearby Lakeshore Lions Arena , and
26112-448: The new owners, profits had tripled to just under $ 1 million. Ballard negotiated lucrative deals to place advertising throughout the building, and greatly increased the number of seats in the arena. Following a Royal Canadian Mounted Police raid at MLG in 1968, Stafford was charged with income tax evasion, and he and Ballard were accused of illegally taking money from MLGL to pay for home renovations and other personal expenses. Just before
26304-558: The northwestern U.S., and the National Hockey Association of central Canada, both of which competed for the then-independent Stanley Cup . The NHA's teams reorganized as the National Hockey League in 1917, and the West Coast circuit died out by the mid-1920s. By 1926, the NHL had expanded to ten teams in Canada and the northeastern and midwestern United States. However, the onset of the Great Depression in
26496-459: The older league into expansion. The WHA merged four of its remaining teams into the NHL in 1979, but had to give up most of its players, as they were still under NHL contract and had to return to their original teams. The NHL made its last pronounced realignment in the 1990s, moving most of the WHA teams out of their markets and establishing a number of new teams in the southern United States. In Europe,
26688-637: The players from the Toronto Blueshirts from owner Eddie Livingstone while litigation was underway between Livingstone and the NHL. This temporary franchise won the Stanley Cup in 1918. However, instead of returning the players to Livingstone, the Arena Company formed the Toronto Arena Hockey Club, popularly known as the Toronto Arenas , with Arena Company auditor Hubert Vearncombe as team president. This new organization
26880-537: The players of Premier League club Manchester City F.C. receiving an average salary of £2 million in that season. Premier League salaries have boomed in more recent years thanks to massive television deals and wealthy new investors in clubs. Terry's and Gerrard's 2010–11 salaries would not have placed them among the top 25 earners in 2017–18. In that season, more than 20 players earned more than £10 million, led by Alexis Sánchez (£21.5 million) and Mesut Özil (£20.9 million). The Premier League's two Manchester clubs had
27072-464: The players that had been loaned to the Arenas and other NHL teams had been returned to Quebec. Additionally, with the poor performance of the previous season, and the turnover in franchise management, the franchise essentially started over. The club improved to second and third-place finishes in the halves of the schedule. In 1920–21, the club placed second and first in the schedule halves, enough to make
27264-483: The players; the rules then changed so that players could become free agents within certain limits, free to sell their services to any team. The resulting bidding wars led to players becoming increasingly wealthy. Disputes between the players' union and the owners have at times halted baseball for months at a time (e.g., 1994–95 player strike ). A prominent professional baseball circuit known as Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) also developed in Japan. Founded in 1934,
27456-424: The popularity of sports. In most sports played professionally there are many more amateur than professional players, though amateurs and professionals do not usually compete. American football (commonly known as football in the United States) was professionalized in the 1890s as a slow, and initially covert, process; Pudge Heffelfinger and Ben "Sport" Donnelly were the first to secretly accept payment for playing
27648-440: The project, and was responsible for cost overruns. The renovated stadium can be temporarily expanded to a capacity of roughly 40,000 for big events. The Argos purchase agreement called for two Grey Cups to be played at BMO Field, the first being the 104th Grey Cup in 2016, and the stadium was chosen to host rugby sevens at the 2015 Pan Am Games and the 2017 NHL Centennial Classic . In August 2014, MLSE reached an agreement with
27840-424: The sale, MLSE now owns four of the five major league sports teams in Toronto (only the Blue Jays are not owned by MLSE, although Rogers Communications, which owns the Blue Jays, has an ownership stake in MLSE). When the nearby city of Oshawa built a new arena, known as General Motors Centre , MLSE was chosen to manage the building. However, disappointing results in the first year and a half of operations following
28032-425: The same family (thus allowing the best players to be stacked onto certain teams), and restricting its players' salaries through reserve clauses . This stagnation allowed other leagues to arise: the Western Hockey League soon became the de facto major league of the western states and provinces, and the second-tier American Hockey League emerged in a number of midwestern markets the NHL had neglected, in addition to
28224-548: The schism which created the code of rugby league. Arguments against amateurism often appeal to the argument that amateurism in sport favors the classes who can afford not to be paid to play, and is thus a covert form of prejudice against lower classes. Another argument is that amateur players are often de facto professionals who retain their amateur status by earning allowances instead of salaries. For example, all Eastern bloc countries were populated with amateur players who were actually full-time athletes hired as regular workers of
28416-493: The shares within the family, but in February 1972 Ballard bought all 251,545 of Stafford's shares for $ 7.5 million, valuing the company at $ 22 million. Stafford's brother Hugh also sold his shares to Ballard, ending the Smythe family's 45-year involvement in the company. Combined with Ballard's 262,162 shares, this gave him majority ownership of about 70%. Six months later, Ballard was convicted of 47 charges, including fraud and theft of money and goods, and sentenced to three years in
28608-535: The significant cost of the project. Subsequently, MLSE president Tim Leiweke said on an NFL team in Toronto: "We can't own a team (per NFL rules), but we do have more expertise on how to build (stadiums) than anyone ... MLSE can play a role." It has been reported that MLSE is interested in building and managing the proposed NFL stadium, which it has already begun designing. In 2013 MLSE minority owner Tanenbaum and board member Edward Rogers III partnered with musician Jon Bon Jovi to purchase an NFL team. Following
28800-415: The site of Toronto FC's new state-of-the-art academy and training facility. Construction began on the BMO Training Ground in May 2011, and the facility opened in June 2012. It includes three grass fields, one domed turf field and a field house. MLSE spent more than $ 21 million building the facility and pays rent for the land, In July 2014 it was announced that MLSE would expand the training grounds to house
28992-427: The six cities to apply Toronto was not one of the four which were successful. It was not until the NBA awarded an expansion franchise to John Bitove , over a group led by future MLSE minority owner Larry Tanenbaum which was supported MLGL, that the city would get an NBA team, with the Toronto Raptors joining the NBA for the 1995–96 season. In 1997 it was reported that the Maple Leafs were in negotiations to purchase
29184-448: The spring of 1973 it was announced that the Oilers would relocate to become the Oklahoma City Blazers . Prior to the 1976–77 season the Maple Leafs decided to share an affiliate with the Chicago Black Hawks in an attempt to reduce costs, and pulled out of the Blazers. In 1978 the New Brunswick Hawks of the AHL were established, and were jointly operated by the Chicago Black Hawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs as their farm team. MLGL and
29376-466: The support and appreciation of female athletes in professional sports. Female athletes struggle to obtain the same degree of visibility and sponsorship opportunities as male athletes, whose accomplishments frequently dominate mainstream sports coverage. According to Cheryl Cooky's TEDx talk, a professor in American studies, gender, and sexuality at Purdue University, the marginalization of female athletes in mainstream sports media and sponsorship opportunities
29568-423: The team the Toronto Rock . MLSE held negotiations with the Arena Football League in 1998 on acquiring a US$ 4–7 million expansion franchise for the following season to coincide with the opening of the ACC. The company also submitted an application for a Women's National Basketball Association franchise, but was rejected by the league due to concerns about their readiness. With MLG aging, MLGL began planning for
29760-409: The team to Philadelphia . After Bickell contacted Smythe to inform him of the sale, Smythe persuaded Querrie that civic pride was more important than money and put together a syndicate that bought the St. Pats. Smythe himself invested $ 10,000 of his own money and his group contributed $ 75,000 up front and a further $ 75,000 due 30 days later, with Bickell retaining his $ 40,000 share in the team. The deal
29952-423: The team to his list of franchises, but concluded that the cost and effort that would be required to make the team profitable was not worth the minimal financial upside. In 2013, it was reported that the company was again considering purchasing the team and having them play at a renovated BMO Field, with the asking price reportedly $ 20 million, but later coming down to $ 10 million. A vote by MLSE's board on purchasing
30144-399: The team was called in December 2013, but they were unable to come to an agreement on the issue. On May 20, 2015 it was announced that two of the three ownership partners of MLSE, Bell Canada and Tanenbaum's Kilmer Group, had acquired ownership of the Argos, with the deal to close at the end of the year, and would move the team to BMO Field for the 2016 season. It has been speculated that Rogers
30336-454: The team's colours were to be red and white, but the Leafs wore white sweaters with a green maple leaf for their first game on February 17, 1927. On September 27, 1927, it was announced that the Leafs had changed their colour scheme to blue and white. Although Smythe later stated he chose blue because it represents the Canadian skies and white to represent snow, these colours were also used on his gravel and sand business' trucks. The colour blue
30528-451: The team's hosting of the NBA All-Star Game in February 2016. Originally known as the Biosteel Centre, in March 2019, the Raptors reached an agreement with OVO on a naming rights deal to brand the facility as the OVO Athletic Centre . In February 2015, MLSE confirmed that they were planning on launching a professional boxing series, featuring 3-4 major fights a year co-promoted with Groupe Yvon Michel . Originally planned to start with
30720-417: The team. However, Smythe told Bickell that he was more interested in buying a stake in the team. Not long after, with the team in trouble financially due to majority owner Querrie having lost a lawsuit to former Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingstone over ownership of the franchise, Querrie put the St. Pats up for sale and agreed in principle to sell them to C. C. Pyle for $ 200,000, who planned to move
30912-555: The team.) Though Tom Anselmi briefly took over as President, he was replaced in June 2013 by high-profile executive Tim Leiweke, who had previously run Anschutz Entertainment Group . On August 21, 2014 Leiweke announced that he was stepping down, but would remain in his position until a successor was appointed. MLSE announced on October 29, 2015 that Michael Friisdahl had been hired as Leiweke's successor as President and CEO, and would officially assume his duties in December 2015. The financial success of Toronto FC led MLSE to undertake
31104-405: The two groups. MLGL put forward a proposal to the city to construct a new $ 300 million shared arena just to the north, on top of the rail tracks Union Station , with the already under construction Raptors arena being converted to a bus terminal. However, the proposal died when an agreement could not reached with the City of Toronto government on rent for the land. In November 1997 MLSE submitted
31296-405: The will and buyer and had not paid market value because there was no public bidding process for the shares. Several minority owners, including Harry Ornest , who held 3.5% of the company, and Jim Devellano also objected to MLGV's attempts to take the company private without an auction. Stavro and his partners in MLGV reached a settlement in 1996 to pay an additional $ 23.5 million plus interest to
31488-412: The winners of each division. Baseball became popular in the 1920s, when Babe Ruth led the New York Yankees to several World Series titles and became a national hero on the strength of his home runs (balls that cannot be played because they have been hit out of the field). One of the most noteworthy players was the Brooklyn Dodgers' Jackie Robinson , who became the first African-American player in
31680-402: The years, which have served as developmental farm teams for the Maple Leafs. A group backed by Smythe and Frank Selke of the Montreal Canadiens was awarded an American Hockey League (AHL) franchise for Rochester, New York in July 1956, after a local group could not come up with the US$ 150,000 in capital required by the league. The Leafs and Canadiens would each own 27.5% of the team, with
31872-442: Was Serena Williams with a $ 29.2 million annual income; the highest-paid male player was Lionel Messi with a $ 127 million annual income. In association football, the average wage for women worldwide is $ 35,000, while for men it is $ 410,730. Attendances in women's leagues also tend to be lower than in men's, and there are fewer corporate sponsors, as well as less money from broadcasting rights. Widespread gender discrepancies hamper
32064-413: Was Zlatan Ibrahimović of A.C. Milan who received a salary of €25.9 million after income tax and which also includes Ibrahimović's bonuses and endorsements . Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona is the world's second highest-paid player receiving a salary of £29.6 million (over US$ 45 million) a year after income taxation and which also includes the incomes of Messi's bonuses and endorsements . In
32256-573: Was $ 3,440,000, the median salary was $ 1,075,000, and the minimum salary had grown to four times the inflation-adjusted average salary in 1970 ($ 480,000). In the Indian Premier League in 2019, players earn an average of $ 101,444, and a median salary of $ 72,450, per week. The top-paid players in international cricket in 2017 across the (at the time) 10 Test cricket nations earned anywhere from $ 90,000 to $ 1,470,000 (when looking only at contract and match fees). Toronto St. Patricks The St. Pats organization had operated amateur hockey clubs in
32448-406: Was $ 60,000. The deal ultimately fell apart due to concerns about the team's stadium, Maple Leaf Stadium , which needed up to $ 250,000 in repairs and whose owner wanted $ 4 million to purchase it, and the team was sold and relocated to become the Louisville Colonels for the following season. MLGL owner Harold Ballard said that the company's interest was due in part to help position itself to go after
32640-632: Was able to secure funding for the expansion fee of $ 6.8 million. MLGL attempted to purchase and relocate the Houston Rockets in 1975, which were seeking $ 8 million for the team, but the team's lease ultimately prevented a relocation. In 1976 MLGL attempted to buy the Atlanta Hawks . In 1979 a Toronto group which included Ballard again pushed for an expansion franchise, but lost out to the Dallas Mavericks . A Toronto group, which included Bill Ballard , son of Harold, and Basketball Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain submitted an application and US$ 100,000 deposit for an NBA expansion franchise for MLG in 1986, but of
32832-473: Was announced that Keith Pelley had been hired as president and CEO of MLSE, effective 2 April 2024. In August 2022 it was announced that Leafs Nation Network , the rebranded Leafs TV speciality channel devoted to the Maple Leafs and Marlies, would cease operations on September 1. The channel had been valued at $ 19 million on behalf of the CRTC in 2012. Although Conn Smythe was the face of MLGL from its founding in 1931, he did not acquire majority ownership of
33024-402: Was announced that Stavro had reached a deal with Molson on an option to purchase their MLGL shares until April 1994 and for Molson to waive their option on the estate's shares. Stavro founded MLG Ventures (MLGV) in March 1994 with partners Toronto—Dominion Bank and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan . MLG Holdings Ltd. (MLGH), of which Stavro owned 80% and TD Bank controlled the remaining 20%, held
33216-419: Was built at a cost of $ 44 million, after cost overruns drove up the cost from $ 33.65 million. The Lions Club contributed $ 40 million to the project, with the city providing a $ 35.5 million loan guarantee. The Toronto District School Board leased the land for the arena to the Lakeshore Lions for a 50-year term. MLSE spent a further $ 5 million on training and medical facilities, and pays $ 600,000 annually to rent
33408-399: Was creating MLS Next as a replacement elite youth player development development platform, which the Toronto FC Academy would participate in. In November 2014 MLSE announced the establishment of Toronto FC II , their own minor league professional soccer team playing in the United Soccer League (now known as the USL Championship ) and serving as a reserve team for TFC and a bridge between
33600-452: Was duly admitted to the NHL as a full member in good standing, touching off a new round of litigation with Livingstone which forced the Arenas to unload most of their stars. They only won five games in 1918–19, and were forced to suspend operations in February. Livingstone won a $ 20,000 judgment against the Arena Company, which declared bankruptcy to avoid paying the bill. Before the 1919–20 season, general manager Charlie Querrie learned that
33792-455: Was established in 1933, a draft was established in 1936, and schedules were standardized in the 1930s. A competing league has historically arisen to attempt to challenge the NFL's dominance every 10 to 15 years, but none managed to maintain long-term operations independent of the NFL and only two—the All-America Football Conference of the late 1940s and the American Football League of the 1960s—were strong enough to successfully compete against
33984-425: Was expected to substantially increase, and a $ 50 million lawsuit from Bill Ballard, who claimed that Stavro and others devalued MLGL and withheld information relevant to the value of the company prior to the sale of his stock. Ontario's Office of the Public Trustee, which was charged with representing the charities named by Harold's will as beneficiaries, argued that Stavro had a conflict of interest as both executor of
34176-409: Was finalized on Valentine's Day, and the new owners quickly renamed the team the Toronto Maple Leafs , after the national symbol of Canada. Smythe attributed his choice of a maple Leaf for the logo to his experiences as a Canadian Army officer and prisoner of war during World War I . Later that year, Smythe bought the junior hockey Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association to serve as
34368-442: Was first professionalized in Pittsburgh , U.S. in the first decade of the 20th century. Because Canadians made up the vast majority of hockey players, early American professional leagues imported almost all of their players before Canadian leagues began to form in the wake of a mining boom, depriving the U.S. leagues and teams of talented players. Two distinct circuits formed: the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in western Canada and
34560-417: Was instituted, each team had one "Designated Player" slot with a salary cap charge of $ 400,000, but no limit on actual salary paid. Since then, the number of Designated Players per team has increased to three, with each counting for $ 530,000 of cap room in 2019. The league's average salary was about $ 283,000 per year in 2015, but the median salary was then closer to $ 110,000. MLS' minimum player salary in 2019
34752-421: Was not interested in investing in the team since Bell has exclusive rights to broadcast all CFL games. MLSE eventually completed its purchase the Argos in January 2018. According to the National Post , the sale, which came less than a month after the team won the 2017 Grey Cup , "is expected to help the Argos, given MLSE's financial scale and promotional, ticketing and operational advantages." Additionally, it
34944-414: Was often criticized for his inability to end the company's long championship drought. The Leafs haven't won a championship since 1967, and at the time the only other major championship won under MLSE ownership was the 74th Grey Cup in 1986 by the Tiger-Cats. Toronto FC subsequently won in 2017, as did the Raptors in 2019. (The Argonauts' 2017 Grey Cup win came shortly before MLSE announced its purchase of
35136-409: Was opened five months and two weeks later, on November 12, 1931, at a cost of $ 1.5 million ($ 28.7 million in 2023 dollars). The Marlboros also moved to the new arena. Bickell was named the first president of MLG. To help fill dates at the new arena, Smythe acquired an expansion franchise in the professional International Lacrosse League on behalf of MLGL for the 1932 season, which was also given
35328-429: Was paid off in 1960. In November 1961, Smythe sold 45,000 of his 50,000 shares to a three-person partnership formed by his son Stafford Smythe , Harold Ballard , and John Bassett (owner of the Toronto Telegram and part-owner of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts) for $ 2.3 million. When combined with their own holdings, this gave the Stafford-Ballard-Bassett partnership 87,000 shares, representing 60% of
35520-399: Was positioning himself to take over the holding company, control of HEBL. Harold did not want his bickering children to inherit MLGL because he feared they would destroy it. Though Ballard ran up significant amounts of personal debt during his ownership of MLGL, he made the company very profitable, so much so that MLG became known as the "Cashbox on Carlton Street", referring to the address of
35712-408: Was purchased from The T. Eaton Co. Ltd. for $ 350,000, a price said to be $ 150,000 below market value. A new 12,473 seat (14,550 including standing room) arena, Maple Leaf Gardens (MLG), was designed by the architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald . To finance construction, Smythe got backing from Sun Life for half of the expected $ 1 million cost. He then formed Maple Leaf Gardens Limited (MLGL) as
35904-413: Was reported that MLSE were in talks to buy the Football League Championship team. However, the company later denied that it planned to purchase the club. In 2015 reports emerged that MLSE was investigating taking over the bankrupt Parma F.C. of Italy's Serie A . Peddie retired as President and CEO of MLSE at the end of 2011 after 14 years on the job, having tripled the value of the company. However, he
36096-461: Was retained in the merger and became MLSE's President and CEO. That July the company adopted a new name, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), to reflect its broader holdings. MLSE subsequently ordered major modifications to the original design of the ACC, which was basketball-specific, to make it more suitable for hockey. Originally planned to cost $ 217 million, the budget was increased to $ 265 million after MLSE took control. In February 1999
36288-400: Was strictly an amateur sport throughout the 19th and most of the 20th century. In 1995, the game's international administrators allowed professionals to participate for the first time. The related sport of rugby league evolved directly out of rugby union's opposition to player payments; it has allowed professionalism in its game since its inception in 1895. Professional athleticism has been
36480-403: Was the $ 14 million paid to former Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimović , who played for the LA Galaxy in that season. Ibrahimović was signed to his 2019 contract under MLS' Designated Player Rule , which was instituted in 2007 for the express purpose of attracting international stars. Now-retired English star David Beckham was the first player signed under its provisions. When the rule
36672-413: Was the largest single shareholder in MLGL, and he and Ballard controlled almost half the company's stock between them. They were thus able to regain control of the board in 1970, and Stafford was once again appointed president. Facing an untenable situation, Bassett sold the 196,200 MLGL shares he controlled to Stafford and Ballard in September 1971 for $ 5.4 million, which he used to buy out his partners in
36864-420: Was to cost $ 62.9 million total, and purchased the naming rights to the stadium for $ 10 million for 20 years, which they subsequently resold to the Bank of Montreal for $ 27 million over the first 10 years. MLSE also agreed to cover any construction cost overruns. The governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto contributed $ 27 million, $ 8 million and $ 9.8 million respectively, with the City of Toronto also providing
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